Early voting in general election in Pope County saw more votes cast in its first week than in the entire school board election and almost matched the May primary turnout.

By Thursday, 2,984 voters had turned out in Pope County. On Friday, the busiest day yet for early voting since it began last Monday, 953 voters turned out, increasing the total to 3,937 voters. The week finished on a lighter note, with 237 voters turning out Saturday, ending with a total of 4,174 for the first week.

The first week quadrupled the number of votes cast in the school board election in September, which saw a low turnout of 1,077 voters. A total of 5,251 voters participated in the May primary election and 2,317 for the July runoffs.

While the Election Headquarters has seen a consistent flow of voters coming in and out, Polsgrove said the Election Commission has worked to prepare for whatever turnout they may see.

“We just try to plan on being ready for whoever shows up,” she said. “If there’s a good number, then we have ballots and the machines are ready. If there’s not very many, then we’re ready for that, too. The commissioners just try to have everything ready for every voter to come vote.”

Because of a five-minute time limit in the voting booths, Polsgrove encouraged voters to research the issues on the ballot before heading to the polls.

“Because of the issues that are on the ballot, sometimes people come in and they’re not aware of how they want to vote or what these issues mean,” said Polsgrove, who added that issues 3 and 4 on the ballot — which relate to casinos in Arkansas — were stricken after the ballots were already printed, and therefore will not be counted.

Voters can research the issues at www.voterview.org.

Early voting will continue at the Pope County Election Headquarters through Nov. 5.

It will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays during early voting, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. The headquarters will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 5.